Man charged after refusing to pay restaurant tab tells his side of story

Spartanburg Police said a man was charged after refusing to pay his food bill and attacking a server at the Wild Wings Café on Main Street, but the suspect said the police report doesn't tell the true story.

Police said they arrived at the restaurant early Saturday morning to find servers pinning the suspect, Reginald Butler, to the ground.

Employees told officers that Butler had ordered several alcoholic beverages throughout Friday night and when his server delivered his bill around midnight, he became irate and refused to pay, according to police reports.

Reports state Butler pushed a server that tried to stop him from leaving and threw a punch at the server, before two others wrestled him to the ground and held Butler down as he continued to fight them.

Butler's version of the story is a bit different.

He said he was at Wild Wing Café with co-workers, and when he was ready to leave, he claimed he noticed that additional items were added to his bill.

"I didn't just refuse to pay and ask to leave," Butler said. "I pointed out the error to my server and then asked to speak with the manager."

Butler said several minutes went by and the manager never came over to his table, and when he asked for the manager again, he said the server cursed at him and told him he wasn't going to get out of paying his bill.

"I knew I had racked up a big bill, and I still plan to pay what I owe," Butler said. "But there were $30 worth of extra charges on my ticket and I refused to pay for what I didn't order."

Butler said he then he attempted to leave the restaurant and two male employees grabbed him and pushed him to the ground.

"I never tried to attack anyone," Butler said.

Police said Butler was charged with defrauding a restaurant and transported to the Spartanburg County Detention facility.